Futagawa-juku
- Japanese: 二川宿 (Futagawa-juku)
Futagawa-juku was the 33rd of the 53 stations of the Tôkaidô highway. Located in Mikawa province, within what is today the city of Toyohashi, Aichi prefecture, Futagawa was a small post-town, home to some 1,468 residents in 328 homes (as of 1843). One honjin and one waki-honjin were maintained to serve as lodgings for the daimyô and other elite figures who regularly passed through the town; thirty-eight hatagoya catered to other travelers. Though originally located within the territory of Yoshida han, from 1643 onwards, the post-town was overseen by a daikan appointed by the shogunate, rather than coming under the authority of the local daimyô.[1]
Honjin
Futagawa honjin is believed to have been established in 1601, or very shortly afterward, along with the official establishment of Futagawa as a post-station of the Tôkaidô. Though initially the two villages of Futagawa and Ôiwa oversaw the administration of the post-station together, from 1644 onward, the post-station came under the exclusive control of Futagawa, while the neighboring village of Ôiwa became its own "additional post station" (kashuku). The two villages were also removed from the territory of Yoshida han at that time, and made shogunal territory. For the first half of the Edo period, the honjin was managed by the Gotô family, whose head in each generation, Gotô Gozaemon, also served as a local village/town official, as well as being involved in festivals at Futagawa Hachiman Shrine.
However, after a severe fire in 1735, the position was given over to someone else. After another fire in 1793, the Gotô family were unable to regain their position, and Kurebayashi Kenzaemon took over the operations of the honjin for a time. Following yet another fire, towards the end of 1806, however, Kurebayashi too was forced to relinquish the position, passing it on to relatives from the Baba family. The Baba family claimed descent from Baba Mino-no-kami Nobufusa, a retainer of Takeda Shingen. They relocated from Ise province to Mikawa towards the beginning of the Edo period. The head of the family was known as Hikojûrô in each generation. They engaged in agriculture, saké brewing, and ran a store called the Ise-ya selling rice and other grains. Members of the Baba family continued to maintain the honjin from 1807, through the end of the Edo period, until 1870. The first Baba Hikojûrô to run the honjin was also known as Sôkei 宗徑; his son & successor was Hôtô 邦嶋, who was then followed by Atsunori 篤則, who ran the honjin until 1870.
The Baba family has left 33 volumes of records, covering the period from 1807 to 1866. They include lists of prominent individuals who stayed at the honjin, as well as for certain periods day-to-day records. These include several categories or groups of documents, two of which are: volumes grouped until the title go-kyûhaku sôken (御休泊早見), which are organized chronologically, day by day; and volumes collected under the title go-kyûhaku kiroku (御休泊記録), which are organized in iroha order (akin to alphabetically) by the names of the daimyô, kuge, or other figure featured in that entry. These go-kyûhaku kiroku record in which rooms or buildings each figure stayed, how many people they brought with them, the food they were served, how much they paid, what extra gifts they brought for the post-town officials, and what special gifts they were given in exchange by the post-town. Records regarding daimyô are particularly detailed, including as well accounts of actions by post-town officials & the daimyô’s representatives (e.g. the exchange of official documents); occasions when stays were extended or changed due to the weather; descriptions of where lanterns and banners were hung; and so forth.
Along with the neighboring "additional post-station" (kashuku) town of Ôiwa, Futagawa was home to some 1,468 people in 1843, in 328 homes. There were 38 hatagoya (inns) between the two towns at that time.[2]
The honjin at Futagawa survives today as a local history museum. The building is 17 1/2 ken wide, and covers a space of roughly 525 tsubo.[3] The front building, or the front portion of the building, including the genkan, dates to 1856, having been rebuilt after the 1854 earthquake which destroyed the previous 1807 building. The front gate facing out onto the Tôkaidô is a four-legged yakuimon-style gate, dating to 1850; the previous 1807 gate was torn down in conjunction with renovations at that time.[4]
Extensive repairs of the property were performed in 1988-1990, including re-erecting the shoin section which had been torn down. In the course of the project, numerous Edo period items were discovered, as well as new information about the construction of the building.[4]
| Preceded by: Shirasuka-juku |
Stations of the Tôkaidô | Succeeded by: Yoshida-juku |
References
- Ina Toshisada 伊奈利定, "Tôkaidô Futagawa juku honjin ni okeru daimyô-ke no riyô" 東海道二川宿本陣における大名家の利用, Honjin ni tomatta daimyô tachi 本陣に泊まった大名たち, Toyohashi, Aichi: Futagawa-juku honjin shiryôkan (1996), 55.
- Plaques on-site in Futagawa.
- Gallery labels, Futagawa-juku honjin shiryôkan.
- ↑ Asao Naohiro (ed.), Fudai daimyô Ii ke no girei, Hikone Castle Museum (2004), 331.; Shibuya Shiori 渋谷詩織, "Ryûkyû shisetsu to shukuba - Tôkaidô Futagawa wo chûshin ni -" 「琉球使節と宿場―東海道二川を中心に」, in Kamiya Nobuyuki 紙屋敦之 (ed.), Kinsei Nihon ni okeru gaikoku shisetsu to shakai hen'yô 3: taikun gaikô kaitai wo ou 『近世日本における外国使節と社会変容（３）－大君外交解体を追う－』, Tokyo: Waseda University (2009), 78.
- ↑ Shibuya, 78.
- ↑ Watanabe Kazutoshi 渡辺和敏, "Sankin kôtai to honjin" 参勤交代と本陣, Honjin ni tomatta daimyô tachi, 53.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Plaques on-site.[1][2]
